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Hi Keith - I'm sorry the shutdown is disruptive to your business. Discontinuing our direct-to-merchant products was a tough call for us and something we debate

Hi Keith - I'm sorry the shutdown is disruptive to your business. Discontinuing our direct-to-merchant products was a tough call for us and something we debated intensely. At the end of the day, unlike Stripe which is building broader payment functionality - we're trying to provide payments for a very focused usecase: platforms (like marketplaces, crowdfunding sites, small business software, etc) Any product that isn't directly working towards that takes resources away from our platform work. In addition, because it isn't our core focus, it won't be a best-in-class product. That's why we made the tough call to do this. If there's anything I can do to help make the transition to Stripe or anyone else easier, please let me know - bill@wepay.com Thanks for being a customer.

sync 13y ago
Stripe targets marketplaces too: https://stripe.com/connect https://stripe.com/connect -- you have your work cut out for you!
- billclerico 13y ago
  Agreed, we have a lot of respect for the guys & gals at Stripe. Patrick, John & I were in the same YC batch and we know them well. I think we have different visions - in my words (not theirs), Stripe is looking to build a general-purpose payment API for developers. WePay is trying to build a payment company to serve platforms only. We believe we can service platforms better by focusing on that usecase. For example, we built Veda, our risk engine the specializes in underwriting the risk of individuals and small businesses using social media. Because of this, we can pay out marketplace sellers faster, collect less data from them (making signup easier), and not hold the marketplace accountable for fraud loss. I think that platforms are such an interesting segment of ecommerce that they deserve special attention.
kaa2102 13y ago
I realize that it's difficult to deliver bad news to customers. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

sync 13y ago

Stripe targets marketplaces too: https://stripe.com/connect https://stripe.com/connect -- you have your work cut out for you!

billclerico 13y ago
Agreed, we have a lot of respect for the guys & gals at Stripe. Patrick, John & I were in the same YC batch and we know them well. I think we have different visions - in my words (not theirs), Stripe is looking to build a general-purpose payment API for developers. WePay is trying to build a payment company to serve platforms only. We believe we can service platforms better by focusing on that usecase. For example, we built Veda, our risk engine the specializes in underwriting the risk of individuals and small businesses using social media. Because of this, we can pay out marketplace sellers faster, collect less data from them (making signup easier), and not hold the marketplace accountable for fraud loss. I think that platforms are such an interesting segment of ecommerce that they deserve special attention.

kaa2102 13y ago

I realize that it's difficult to deliver bad news to customers. Thanks for taking the time to respond.